If a Connecticut hospital wants to end a service, it must seek state approval prior to doings so. That is the law. Hartford HealthCare broke that law and the State is fining them $1000/day.
The purpose of the law is to protect CT patients and families. The idea is that it should be the people of CT who decide if a hospital can close Labor & Delivery, or any service, not the CEOs of a hospital corporation, because hospitals exist for the good of the community, not the financial gains of a few at the top.
This process, called the Certificate of Need, (CoN) exists to protect CT residents. Hartford Healthcare ignored this procedure when they ended Labor & Delivery at Windham Hospital. As a result of the CoN hearing last November, it was revealed that HHC decided in late 2019 to end L&D. The last baby was delivered at Windham in June of 2020. HHC did not file for permission (a CoN) until the fall of 2020, a clear violation of the law.
No doubt HHC will appeal and $1000/day (now at $151,000) is pocket change to HHC, especially because it doesn’t come out of the CEO’s pocket, but it is an important step in the state of CT holding hospital corporations accountable to the law.
This does not settle the bigger question of whether HHC will need to re-establish L&D at Windham. That decision is still forthcoming from the state, who still seeks additional follow up information post the November hearing.
AFT Connecticut has been proud to be a part of a community coalition, Windham United to Save our Healthcare, that has worked hard to hold HHC accountable. I thank the many community members and organizations for not giving up on the people of eastern CT, especially the Wonen, babies, and families directly affected. I also want to thank the leadership and members of AFT CT and AFT, especially Jan Hochadel and Randi Weingarten for supporting this effort every step of the way.
A copy of the order from the state is at https://www.hopeunions.org/sites/default/files/article_pdf_files/2022-02/other-civil_penalty_notice.pdf
AFT Nurses & Health Professionals Hope Unions Connecticut AFL-CIO
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